The Jars in the Refrigerator
by Kierastarlight
Summary: SLASH Dean/Castiel. Dean and Sam are looking into a mystery having to do with weird, creepy jars in refrigerators. And Dean keeps thinking of Castiel...Mostly rated T, but two chapters are M
1. Chapter 1

I decided to post my original story, which is the slash version. This was my first chapter fic. Takes place somewhere in the 4th season of Supernatural. Rated T except for one chapter later on. This is a complete story, will finish uploading all the chapters shortly.

---

"Hey Dean," Sam said, looking up from a newspaper. "I think I may have found our next job, take a look." Sam folded the paper and shoved it in Dean's direction.

"Dean!" Sam said. "Are you paying attention?'

"Huh? What?" Sam noticed that Dean's far-away look finally settled on him, and then on the newspaper.

"Are you okay, Dean?" Sam asked more softly, with some caution in his voice. Ever since Dean started opening up about hell, Sam never knew whether Dean was going to go full force like a geyser at Yellowstone or clam up like his don't-give-me-a-chick-flick-moment self.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sammy," Dean said, but his voice was strained, and Sam was inclined to worry, but knew Dean would not open up unless he chose to do so. On his own. Sam's successful attempts to have heart-to-hearts with Dean by Sam's prompting were as barren as an outside seating Dairy-Queen in the depths of winter.

Dean took the paper and Sam started filling him in before he could read. "In Benkowski, Illinois, a teenage girl was murdered and partially dismembered on April 9, two weeks ago. Some of those body parts still haven't been found yet. I did some poking around and found out she had a LiveJournal account, and had written about how while babysitting for a new family in town, she was warned not to look in or touch some jars in the refrigerator-"

"What? She couldn't touch the pickles? Or the mayonnaise? What the hell kind of babysitting job is that?"

"Dean-"

"And what is a 'LiveJournal'?"

"It's an online blog."

"What is a blog?"

"It's an online journal, Dean. Like having a diary online. Anyway,-"

"People have a diary online?" his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Sounds kinda kinky to me. Do people get their jollies off by having other people read their personal, porny lives?"

"Only in your universe is everything about porn, Dean. Will you listen to me? I am trying to tell you something."

"Alright."

"Okay, so Angela, that's the girl that was murdered, she wrote that the jars were big, like abnormally big, and were covered in brown butcher-type paper in the back of the fridge. She didn't have the nerve to look the first time, but said she planned to at least rip some of that paper back the next time she babysat. She said that was going to be the coming Friday night. That turned out to be the night she died, Dean."

"And then this," Sam said, pointing to the newspaper article. "A month before Angela was ripped to pieces, another teenage girl two states over died, also mutilated, and on the list of her life story printed in the paper was that she had just started babysitting. For a new family that just happened to disappear the day after she was murdered. It mentions they were going to ask the family for their reflections on their dearly departed new babysitter, but the house was suddenly empty."

"Didn't the police think that was weird?" Dean asked.

"Yeah the article mentioned that was part of the investigation but they had no leads."

"Well, that's really weird and creepy alright, but I'm not sure what it has to do with us," Dean said.

"That's the thing, I couldn't put my finger on it, and there was nothing in Dad's journal, but I emailed Bobby and he emailed me back, saying he had a little something in his own journal that sounded similar."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Bobby said he had an entry from years ago, saying that there was an elaborate ritual, a really dark one, that Bobby caught wind of and part of that ritual was to have human body parts, certain parts, kept cold and not exposed to light for a week, but not freeze them either."

Dean's nose was wrinkling again. "Does it say which body parts were missing from the girls?"

"It does. On both girls, the left hand, the left ear, and the left foot and lower left leg, attached. The right arm and leg were also chopped off in both cases, but were lying near the torso, so are not missing."

"So let me guess," Dean said, "Bobby's journal said those parts, those left-side parts, were part of the ritual?

"Exactly. To a T. So I think we better head out there, the crack of dawn."

"Okay." Dean scratched his head as he stood up. "I'm gonna take a shower and hit the hay. See you."

Dean felt filthy as he walked towards the bathroom. Not just from the sweat he'd accumulated from the job they finished earlier that morning, but from his own wandering thoughts. Today no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept wandering back to Castiel.

How Castiel went through the trouble of lifting some of the pain from his heart and his soul. How Castiel kept showing up to see him. And more so, how Castiel looked at Dean with a burning fire in his eyes, every frickin time he showed up.

That's the image that Dean truly couldn't break out of his mind. Castiel peered deep into Dean's soul with those eyes, like nobody ever had before, and somehow had created a bond between them that ran inside Dean like a silent, invisible electric current, which he was becoming more and more aware of.

Dean felt guilty as hell for these thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking like this for an angel of the Lord. Who happens to reside in a man's body no less.

Dean stripped down after relieving his bladder and stepped into the shower. Wishing the hot water could wash his mind, not just his skin. He grabbed the tiny motel bar of soap and started to lather his arm. Shit. He should have remembered that every time he was in the shower, he saw THAT. That thing on his arm. Every time he soaped it up, he lingered on it with his fingers, feeling every mountain and valley of it. He thought about what it meant. Castiel left his mark on him for LIFE. This was never going away, ever. It was a constant reminder of their bond.

And this was what pissed Dean off about himself. He didn't WANT it to go away, ever. He valued it. He valued the way it made him feel to see it there, every day. At the same time though, he wanted these feelings to stop. He gritted his teeth and willed himself to finish the shower and get out of there. Just get clean and move on with life.

A squeaky clean Dean 10 minutes later, he moved the shower curtain aside, and stepped out before he realized Castiel was in the room, trench coat and all, barely 2 feet away in that small bathroom.

"Holy Shit!" Dean cried, reaching for his towel. He couldn't help but notice that Castiel's eyes were wandering down the length of Dean's body before he could cover himself up.

"What are you doing here! Can't you wait a couple minutes and let a man dress before you show up?"

"We need to talk, Dean," Castiel stated plainly.

"I can see that! But sheesh, haven't they taught you any manners in angel school?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side just slightly, with that quizzical look in his eyes that Dean was getting used to.

"I apologize. I didn't realize it would embarrass you for another man to see you naked." _Shit,_ Dean thought. _Caught red handed._ "Of, of course not. It's just not polite to barge on people when they're naked is all." _Oh God, Castiel has seen me NAKED._

"Please do not be embarrassed Dean. The human body is not quite to an angel what it is to a human being. Although I must say your body is rather aesthetic, not only by human standards, but to an angel's eye as well."

"Huh?"

"There is nothing wrong with your body. Not even close. Please do not be ashamed, I am only here as a messenger. I need to tell you to..."

Dean barely heard him; he was trying so hard not to turn red in the face. He knew what aesthetic meant, he had been playing dumb. Besides, he was shocked, he still couldn't believe what he had heard. _It means he DIGS me. _He was also hoping Castiel didn't have x-ray vision and couldn't see what was happening behind his towel.

Then Castiel was gone. Dean didn't know if he was more relieved, or disappointed.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean seemed even more preoccupied to Sam the next morning in the car, and he didn't think it had to do with Dean's strange question after his shower, ("Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" "Oh, nothing."), but then maybe it did… but anyway, Sam just wanted to let Dean be, unless Dean wanted to talk. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Dean strained through those terrible memories of hell, day after day. Despite what Dean had said, that he had tortured souls, he knew how much Dean regretted it, and Sam wished Dean wouldn't blame himself. It was hell that had twisted him into it. If anything, Sam thought Dean had to be the strongest man alive, having gone to hell and back, literally, and he admired his brother for it, in a very melancholy way. It was a terrible thing to have to admire someone for.

But, the case. Maybe he could distract Dean from his misery by talking about the case.

"So," Sam said, "Bobby says there is a reason why the left-side body parts are cut off and preserved for this ritual."

"Yeah?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. According to some old beliefs, it is the left ear that hears the voice of the devil and evil in general. It is the right ear that hears the Divine voice of God. This ritual took advantage of that belief and made sure to leave valuable offerings to their demon of choice, the left ear of a human, and the left hand, which was also considered more likely to do the deeds of evil. The foot too, of course."

"Guess left-handers are in trouble," Dean said, perking up with a smile.

"Anyway, the ritual showed the demon, whoever it was, that the one doing the offering was perfectly willing to only submit to their left-sided inclinations. Meaning of course, to completely follow a path of evil. There was more to the ritual, but Bobby's not completely clear on all the aspects."

"So, what did the ritual do for them? The nutty people who did that ritual, that is?"

"That's what Bobby and I are trying to figure out. We have some concerns… some of the unclear stuff about the ritual, Bobby did some checking, and, well, they kinda sound like some stuff brought up in Revelations…"

"Shit. You mean this could be getting Biblical." Dean went from wide-eyed to suddenly looking down, and Sam saw it, he had taken his eye off the road briefly to glance at Dean. _I've never seen him so embarrassed_, Sam thought. _Ever._

Sam forgot he was respecting Dean's need for space because his own curiosity went into overdrive. "Dean, what the hell is THAT all about?"

"What the hell is WHAT all about?"

"That LOOK on your face! What were you thinking?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, and you are SUPPOSED to be looking at the road, Sam!"

"Fine. Be that way. Just let me pretend that look didn't happen. Something is going on behind those eyes of yours Dean. Something is stewing. Leave me just hanging and wondering forever."

"I think I WILL!" Dean shouted. "Can we just get back to the topic? So you'n Bobby are saying, that this ritual could be one of the Seals to break Lucifer free…"

That thought was enough to sober up the atmosphere in the car. "Yeah." Sam said.  
"It could be." They continued the ride for awhile in silence.

--

_Shit._ Dean was really, really going to have to watch himself now. All Sam does is bring up the Seals, which reminds Dean of Castiel, since it was Castiel who told him the Seals were being broke in the first place, with those innuendo eyes, not just telling Dean the seriousness of the situation, but possibly something else…

…but anyway, of course, thinking of Castiel made him think of last night, and how Dean was trying not to get a hard-on, as soon as he realized Castiel was in the bathroom, seeing him NAKED for God's sake, and how he couldn't stop it as soon as Castiel was saying in his hoity-toity angel speak that Dean is HOT. Thank God for that towel.

He couldn't deny it anymore. He was getting a hard-on over a MAN. Was it because this man was an angel? Maybe that made it just a little less – gross. Did angels have genders in their true form anyway? Dean didn't know, but he did have to deal with the facts. Castiel turned him ON something fierce. It was that way he always looked at him.

Yeah, Dean thought. If there is anyone that has something stewing behind their eyes and isn't 'fessing up, it's Castiel, not me. Sam had brought up a really good point, although he sure as hell wasn't going to give Sam any satisfaction in that department, No-Sir-E-Bob.

However, maybe it was time he confronted Castiel about those – looks. Those deep looks of longing that he would expect to see from a woman he picked up from the bar, when she was ready and willing, but not from another man.

If it had been anyone else, Dean would have said, I don't swing that way, thank you very much. But this was Castiel. An Angel. Who saved him from hell. Okay, enough rationalizing, Dean told himself. I need to talk to Castiel. To get this out in the open. What is between us. Yeah. Now if I can only get the mother-f'n-courage to ask. Forget that. I'm asking. He started it. I'm not going to sit here and take his searing hot looks any longer without some kind of explanation. Cause like Sam said to him, he DIDN'T want to be left hanging and wondering forever.


	3. Chapter 3

They arrived in Benkowski at 4pm the next day. It was a small town, with a couple of grocery stores, and a lot of trees. There was a river and a forest on one side of the town, Sam discovered from a map online. Not a bad little place, if you didn't count that poor girl being chopped up.

Dean and Sam put on their best suit and tie after checking into a motel, and then head out for the house Angela had lived in. It had a nice big yard and a view of the forest and river in the distance. Sam reflected on the thought that the view was gorgeous, but that was probably meaningless to the grieving family living inside the house now.

Dean and Sam knocked on the door after climbing some steps to a large porch. A 40-ish man with reddened, baggy eyes and unkempt hair opened the door.

This was the part Sam hated about hunting. Seeing all these sad families that lost someone to something unexplainable. He felt for every single one, but he had to tell himself that they were preventing more loss in the long run.

"Hello Mr. Kirski," Dean said. "We are with the FBI." They both took a moment to take out their badges. "We would like to ask you a few questions about your daughter."

"Sure. I hope you can catch the bastards that did this to my daughter. I am not sure what the police are doing." Mr. Kirski stepped aside to let Dean and Sam in.

The home had a large living room, and Dean and Sam took a seat on a couch opposite Mr. Kirski. "Mr. Kirski, first we would like to say we are very sorry for your loss. Please take all the time you need to answer our questions. Is Mrs. Kirski here too? She may have some details that could help us solve this case."

"Mrs. Kirski had a nervous breakdown and is in the hospital," Mr. Kirski explained. "Our daughter was chopped to pieces. Here. In Benkowski. It's a wonder I didn't have a break down myself, but we have 3 other children, and someone had to hold it together for them."

Mr. Kirski started to cry. Sam said, "Mr. Kirski, we want to ask you some things about Angela right before she passed, about anything new or different that had happened to her, and specifically, if she had any new babysitting jobs, and who the family was."

Mr. Kirski was able to stop sobbing because of his surprise. "You know about the babysitting? How?"

"We have our ways," Dean said. "Please fill us in though. Do you know the family's name and where they live? Was there one new family or more?"

"The family was the Nelsons, and it was the only new babysitting job she had recently. The Nelsons had just moved in several blocks away and Angela noticed them while walking our dog. She told them she babysits and they hired her immediately. There was a boy and a girl, but I can't recall their names right now. Angela only babysat for them twice. Do you think they might have something do with this?"

"That's what we are trying to find out," Sam said. "According to the newspaper, Angela was murdered on a Friday night. Did she happen to be babysitting for the Nelson's that night?"

"Yes. And she was supposed to be done with the job at midnight. She would have walked home, this is normally a safe town, and it's a pretty short distance. Her body was found about halfway between here and there, in an alley. The poor woman who found it is traumatized too. The coroner said that time of death was estimated at 12:15am, meaning she must have just finished babysitting."

"Can you tell us where the Nelson's live?" Dean asked. "We'd like to ask them a few questions."

"Sure." Mr. Kirski gave them the address. Dean and Sam asked a few more questions, discovering that the only other thing that had been new in Angela's life was that she had joined a cross-country team, so had a new coach and team members. This could take awhile, thought Sam. Who knew how many students they might have to interview?

They thanked Mr. Kirski and headed down to the Nelson's house. It was a pretty neighborhood drive on the way there, with large shade trees covering the streets with a canopy above and houses that were well kept with large yards. They reached the Nelson house, which looked slightly older than the nearby houses, but that could have been just that it needed a paint job, Sam thought. No car was in the driveway. They climbed the stairs and Sam knocked on the door, but Dean was peeking in the front window, which was curtainless.

"Uh, Sam, I think this place is as empty as a Michael Bolton concert."

"Dean, some people actually like Michael Bolton."

"Are you one of them?"

"No. Let's just get inside already."

Thanks to Dean's trusty lock picking kit, they were both inside within a couple minutes.

"This place looks incredibly clean for a place where the family left in a hurry," Sam said.

"There's a for sale sign out front. Maybe the realtor cleaned it up so they could put it on the market."

"That makes sense." Sam spotted a kitchen past the hard-wood living room they were standing in and started walking to it. Dean followed. Immediately they came to a fridge that just a foot from the open doorway, in a corner.

"Well, here we go," Dean said as he reached to open it up. "This thing better not have a Jeffrey Dahmer thing going on."

To both of their relief, it was empty and clean. However, Sam thought, this doesn't give us any clues. "Check the drawers," Dean was saying.

"Yeah, leave me to check the drawers," Sam said. He bent over and pulled each one open. Nothing.

Sam stood straight up and looked at Dean. "We really ought to check the basement. Remember Mr. and Mrs. Christmas Spirit who turned out to be Pagan Gods?"

"How can I forget? We nearly became their Christmas dinner. Let's make sure to watch our backs this time in this basement."

Sam nodded towards a narrow door in the opposite corner of the kitchen. "I bet that's it, he said, and he was right." They squeezed down the narrow stairway, flashlights already on. Dean put his hand on Sam's shoulder for guidance, and turned around, watching behind him the whole way down. He wasn't kidding when he said he was going to watch his back.

The basement was a typical dusty affair, something that would have made a perfect background for some creepy slumber party story. Sam noticed Dean's eyes were flitting around quickly, and knew that Dean was probably wondering how many spiders were scattered around.

Salt guns ready, they scoured the place for any kind of detail that could mean something. Nothing. Not even a drop of blood. "Let's check the rest of the house," Dean said.

Up on the second floor, the bedrooms were carpeted and it gave Sam an idea. "Sometimes rituals are done in closets." Sam opened the closet door in the master bedroom and saw that the closet was carpeted too. He knelt down and pulled on one corner, lifting it enough to see the floorboard.

"I think we got something, Dean." He pointed to a small symbol that looked like it was painted in dry blood. He pulled the carpet back a little further. More symbols. Sam had seen enough demonic symbols in his time, and these looked quite like several others he had seen, round, with several details, but nothing was identical to anything he'd ever come across.

Sam took a picture of them with his cell phone, and it to Bobby. Several minutes later after finding no other clues, Bobby had texted him back.

"Well? Does Bobby know what these symbols are?"

Sam couldn't keep from his face turning grim. "Yeah. He does."

"Well, clue me in already!"

"Actually, he's going to tell us in person. He's on his way right now. He said to get out of that house, now, and don't eat a single piece of meat anytime soon."

"Damn. This is getting serious if I've gotta be a vegetarian."


	4. Chapter 4

Dean went to check out City Records to see if he could find out where either of the Nelson's had worked. Sam went to the local schools, the high school to try and talk to the coach and some of the running team students, and to the elementary school to see if he could find out more about the Nelson children. Dean was able to take the car, since the two schools were practically next door to each other. Dean glanced at the empty seat, and halfway wished that Castiel would suddenly pop in while he was driving like he did that one time.

City records showed that Mr. Nelson had worked at a small warehouse on the opposite side of town as the Kirski place. Dean drove there next, and confirmed with Nelson's previous supervisor that Nelson had left in a hurry, giving no notice, but saying that he was moving on and wouldn't be back the next day. The Boss Man also made sure to tell Dean that no way and no how was this guy going to get a good reference from him.

"Was there anything peculiar about him, other than his hasty departure?"

"Yeah. At the job interview, he seemed pretty normal. But that was the last time I saw him like that. Every time he showed up to work, he seemed kind of glassy eyed and distant. I wondered if he was on drugs. He didn't talk much to the other guys either. The one thing I could say about him, was that he did his job well."

"And what job was that?"

"This is a shipping and receiving center. We work with various products, but what Nelson worked with was hunting weapons and tools, particularly skinning knifes."

Ew, Dean thought.

"Thus the tight security outside, with the razor topped fence and security guards," the man continued.

"Wait a minute. If people here have to work with weapons, didn't Mr. Nelson have to pass a background check?"

"Yeah, he did. But now I am thinking he came up with a pretty good stolen identity, because he passed the test with flying colors."

Dean thanked the man and headed back out. He wasn't sure if he had gotten anywhere with this new information. The working with knifes might be important though.

Dean was hungry and remembered to order just a French fries and a large shake at a drive-thru. Bobby better fix this case up soon, he thought, or I am gonna starve.

--

Dean pulled up at the front of the elementary school right when Sam was about to call him to say he was done. Perfect timing, Sam thought. They worked pretty well as a team.

"The coach checks out," Sam said. "A couple of students confirmed what he told me himself, that he's been coaching here for years, grew up in this town, and has a wife and 2 kids. And a dog."

"A dog? Now we know he's sane. Okay, you find out anything else?"

"Yeah, some of the students knew Angela pretty well. They were pretty upset about what had happened, understandably. I asked them if Angela had gotten into anything unusual recently, like maybe Wiccan stuff, or even doing a Ouija board. I got some pretty weird looks. Their answer was no. They did tell me who Angela's best friend is though. We'll go see her tomorrow morning, since it is a Saturday."

"The Nelson kids get a little more interesting, though. The teachers thought it was odd that they left town all the sudden when they had only been there for two weeks. And the older kid, the boy, had made some pretty interesting artwork in class."

Sam held up his cell phone and showed Dean a picture. A finger-painting type thing with a lot of red wavy lines and several black circles with numerous details.

"Holy Moses. What was their painting assignment?"

"To close their eyes and draw the first thing that came to their minds."

"The first thing coming to my mind is that Bobby better get down here fast and explain this stuff to us," Dean said.

--

The motel room was a small comfort for the Winchesters as they arrived back. They could lie down and relax on the beds if they wanted, but Sam was wired up, ready to keep researching on his laptop. Dean took advantage of his bed though and spread out, clicking on the TV with the remote bolted to the end table. Dean wanted to find something to distract him from thinking of Castiel again. So far, the day had gone pretty well, they got some helpful clues, and being on a case made Dean felt normal again.

Now though, alone with his thoughts, he felt anything but normal. He realized he was having the kind of thoughts he would normally have about women. And he was having the kind of thoughts he'd had the last time he got serious with someone.

Looking forward to seeing her again. Hoping something would be said to confirm that a bond was getting deeper and more intimate. He'd allowed that only once before in his life, and the vulnerability scared the shit out of him. And this time, he was having these thoughts about a man. Dean looked up at Sam, hoping that Sam couldn't sense what a freak show Dean felt like.

Dean decided that he needed a shower. Nothing good was on TV anyway. He hoped that Castiel wasn't going to pop in this time, and seriously considered showering in his underwear just in case. No, he thought, he's already seen me once, what does it matter if he sees me again. Besides, he snickered inwardly, maybe he WANTS to see me naked.

And maybe I want him to see me naked? But he still hoped it wasn't going to be today. He wasn't ready for the confrontation he planned on with Castiel. Not today. Fortunately for Dean, his shower and drying off was quiet and uneventful. And it was a cold one. He needed it.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning it was time to go see Rebecca, Angela's best friend. Dean and Sam put on their best suits again to pretend to be FBI. Rebecca was about as broken up and red-eyed as poor Mr. Kirski. She was a pretty girl with a pale complexion and dark brown hair that was very long and very straight.

"Rebecca," Sam said, "We are so sorry for your loss, but we are wondering if you can answer a few questions, to help catch who did this to Angela."

"Of course."

"What exactly did Angela tell you about babysitting at the Nelson's?" Sam asked.

"I was hoping someone would catch on to those creeps!" Rebecca said.

"What do you mean?" said Dean.

"I told the police about them, and supposedly they went to talk to them, since Angela was murdered right after leaving their place, but I never heard another thing about it since."

"Have you walked by their place lately?" Sam asked.

"No, that place gives me the creeps," she replied.

"Well, they are gone now, so hopefully that means you don't have to worry about them, but if they are guilty of any crime they do need to be caught. Please tell us anything you know."

"Angela went to babysit for them one night. Practically the first thing out of the man's mouth was not to touch or look in those tall jars in the back of the fridge. At first she was thinking it was one of the kid's science experiments, but when she asked the kids later they said they didn't have science class, I guess they were too young for that."

"Later after the kids went to bed, she peeked into the fridge and she said the jars were enormously tall, about 2 inches taller than the 2-liter of Pepsi next to them, and that a shelf was missing from the fridge to accommodate them. There was this weird brown paper covering them up, but there was just enough uncovered on the top that she knew they were glass jars. She also said she thought she saw a slightly red tinge of color coming out, like reflected on the glass on top or something, which seriously creeped me out"

"She said her curiosity was killing her, and she nearly pulled back the paper to peek, but she was doing it in the dark kitchen alone, after the kids were in bed, and then the cat jumped out at her all the sudden, scaring her to death. She said she nearly screamed she was so freaked out, but caught herself so she wouldn't wake up the kids."

"She told me just about the first thing out of Nelson's mouth when he got back, after the mother asked if the kids were good, was, 'I hope you didn't touch the jars.'"

"That is seriously creepy," Dean said.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I begged Angela never to go back there. But she was determined to go back if they called her again, and look at those jars. I had a really bad feeling about it. God, I wish she had listened to me."

"Was there anything else weird about that place? Any weird symbols, were the children normal or spooky?" Sam asked.

"She didn't mention symbols, why? And if you were wondering if the children were Children of the Corn, the answer is no, they were cute and normal."

"We just have to cover all bases," Sam said, without explaining anymore for her question about the symbols."

"One thing I did think was pretty weird, she got the job because she was walking her dog and suddenly he was pulling Angela into their yard, practically digging up a spot. They were in the yard, and Angela started talking to them. Next thing you know she's their new babysitter."

"Really?" Sam said. "Did the dog manage to dig something up?"

"No, Angela stopped Bucky in time. She was pretty embarrassed about it."

"Do you happen to know where the dog started digging?" Dean asked.

"No, other than it was kind of close to their front porch steps, 'cause Bucky just pulled her practically up to where the stairs were, she said, and they have a pretty long and large front yard."

Rebecca swallowed hard, and said, "Angela was my best friend, and now she's dead. I still can't believe it. It's like I'm having a bad dream and can't wake up. Everybody in town is scared to go out, and there is a curfew now. Please stop whoever did this to her."

"That's what we fully intend to do, Rebecca," Dean said. "Thank you for answering our questions, and keep yourself safe."

Rebecca nodded sadly and Dean and Sam started walking to the car. "So, now we gotta decide if we're going to go look for that spot the dog was digging up late in the night with flashlights, or figure out a way to do it in broad daylight."

"Bobby's going to be here tomorrow," Sam said. "Let's wait till he gets here and fills us in."

"Sounds like a plan."

--

Just as they were getting into the car Dean felt as if he were forgetting something. Something about this case. Now that they weren't interviewing someone, his mind was drifting back to his airy-fairy thoughts about Castiel. Damn, Dean thought, if Ruby thought that pitting the angels and the demons against each other was Mothra and Godzilla, she hasn't seen Dean Winchester going gay and fighting that inner demon. This had to take the cake.

On one hand, he felt like he was a man, and a straight one at that, and this nonsense just had to stop. He kept expecting "Old Dean" to come back, take over and chalk up the experience to feeling awed by a powerful being.

On the other hand, "Old Dean" was melting into "New Dean" on a daily basis, and it was a kind of metamorphosis he wasn't sure he would change if he could. Castiel didn't erase his memories of hell, not by a long shot, but with Castiel in his life, he felt he could experience those horrid memories with rosier colored glasses on. It took some of the edge off, and felt as if Castiel's comforting hand was always on his shoulder.

Also, he was giddy sometimes, and that felt good. He even enjoyed sometimes, his "school girl crush", as he liked to call it, on that dashing man-

Dashing. Maybe it was Old Dean fighting him or something, but he hadn't directly thought about how FUCKING GORGEOUS Castiel was until now. Dean closed his eyes and let the memory of Castiel's face soak into him – especially those eyes. Hmm, maybe he'll take me to the Prom, hardy har har…

And then he remembered. Castiel had been trying to tell him something in the bathroom. Dean had this feeling it had to do with the case. He needed to know what Cas was trying to tell him. It had to have been pretty important.

So he'd better figured out how he can get Castiel to come back. And today, he felt he was in the mood for that confrontation. He just hoped he stayed that way so he could get it over with.


	6. Chapter 6

The Winchesters heard the rumble of Bobby's truck arriving at the motel the next afternoon. Bobby walked in with his journal, his laptop, and a paper grocery bag filled with groceries. Dean took a look in the bag immediately and saw a bunch of bananas, some Ritz crackers, and cheese.

"Thanks, Bobby, for remembering my need for a gourmet lunch," Dean said.

"Yeah, well, thank the chef, Chucklehead."

Dean took out a banana and peeled it almost all the way down. He was about to take a really huge bite when he started looking at it funny, and then downward, as if he were ashamed.

"Why are you looking at that banana so funny?" Bobby asked.

"Nothing," Dean said.

"I hope you guys heeded my warning about not eating meat right now." Bobby said.

Dean's eyes got wider, looking back at the banana, and then he was looking back down at the floor.

"Dude, sometime you are gonna have to tell us what is on your mind lately," Sam said. Sam gave Dean a look to let him know he meant business.

"Let's get down to business though boys," Bobby said. "We can't eat meat for awhile until this case is solved. Those demons those people are trying to raise, as soon as we see those drawn symbols you sent me, they are drawn to the smell of dead meat inside our bodies like a magnet."

"Yeah, but meat isn't digested that fast, it can still be lingering in our intestines," Sam said.

After Dean thanked Sam for the visual, Bobby said, "Fortunately for us, it has to be REALLY fresh dead meat inside of us. So we're safe for now."

"Yeah, this is some really weird stuff going down," Bobby continued. "It's a really elaborate ritual, one of the most elaborate I have ever seen. It takes some time and some careful doing to get it done right, which is actually a bonus for us, 'cause if we can screw them up on their next step, it'll be over."

"It's really an ancient one too. Very. I don't think anyone has attempted it for over 1000 years. Thank goodness some hunters stopped it back then too, because we're talking about breaking one of the Seals, here."

"That's what we thought," Sam said.

"It deals with demons that aren't on our usual list. Heck, I had to talk with a scholarly dude in India to get some of the facts. Thank goodness that chat was online, so I don't have a gi-normous phone bill."

"Mr. Bariphaba down in India told me that there are some very ancient, dark beings in their history that could qualify as demons. These things are very hungry for human souls and sacrifice from loyal followers, put are very picky about how things are done, cause like I said, they want an elaborate ritual, which just happens to break a Seal if it is done properly."

"As you guys already know now, I guess, it is also an old Hindu belief that the left ear is what hears evil. Back in the old days, people would wear their turbans over there with the left ear wrapped and covered, they were so serious about it. And then of course there were the secret societies who WANTED to hear the evil side, and please the demons."

"Then there are the symbols. They are like a phone call to the demons, I guess, helps draw them in. And attracts them to innocent bystanders, anyone who sees the symbols, they become snacks if they've recently ate meat. Kind of a side offering. Might have something to do with why Hindus are mostly vegetarian."

"Which reminds me, Sam. That pretty little picture that the boy drew in class, do you remember if it was hanging up for display? Cause I hope not."

"No," Sam told Bobby. "The teacher thought it was really weird, so she kept it in a folder."

"Whew," Bobby said. "It still needs to be destroyed. Today. And let's hope that teacher is already a vegetarian. I might be able to cast a spell to help her out from a distance though, if we destroy the picture. Also, we've got to destroy the one on the floor of the closet in that house, too."

"I wanted to tell you boys too, that this ritual involves having to do special sacrifices on certain coordinates on a map. The first one is at the top of the circle. Then the next one is of course, to the left, so counterclockwise, and so on till the big one smack dab in the middle of the map. This place here seems to be place number two, since the going to the left in the beginning is really important." Bobby drew a picture on a piece of paper to help illustrate.

"The first place was obviously in Michigan, according to the article and geography. The next one could be in either Kentucky or Indiana."

Bobby showed the boys road map of the United States that he had tucked into his journal.

"You know what's weird," Sam said. "Indiana has to be the spot for the last, big ritual, because its smack dab in the middle. And if you cover up the last N and A in the name Indiana, you get INDIA."

"Damn," Bobby said, raising his eyebrows. "That is weird. That probably isn't a coincidence."

"Another thing," Bobby continued, "is the ritual involves making sure there is fear in the victim that is related to the last victim, if possible. Thus, Angela was most likely looking at the Michigan victim in those jars in the fridge right before she got killed. I'm not sure what the Michigan victim was looking in at that fridge."

"Mr. Bariphaba said in ancient times they had to do something slightly different, of course, without refrigerators, but it was important to the demons that the left-sided body parts be kept cold and out of light, since to them that signified the "dark side."

"Angela was probably absolutely drawn to look into those jars, no matter what. By a spell or something. And the cat saved her life, the first time anyway. I'm sure the thing buried in the yard was part of the spell to lure Angela and the dog over."

"We've got some stuff to do, boys," Bobby said, getting up. First let's take care of all the business in this town."


	7. Chapter 7

Dean, Sam and Bobby went together to take care of destroying the symbols, with Sam doing the dirty deed of breaking into the school building, and Bobby going in with the boys to the closet in the house, cause he wanted to take a closer look. After he drew the symbols the best he could in his journal (and put that picture in an envelope that said: Don't eat meat!) they washed the floor clean of the blood-painted symbols and then scrubbed the floor with some salt for good measure.

Bobby decided they better come back at night to look for what the dog was trying to find, late in the night, after midnight. Dean took advantage of the situation to bring up his own personal little plan. He just hoped they couldn't tell how nervous he was.

"Guys, I think the other night, Castiel was trying to tell me something about the case, but I was in the shower, so I didn't hear him properly. Remember Sam, how I asked you if you heard anything?"

"Yeah," Sam said, with a look on his face which looked to Dean like, 'What on EARTH was Castiel doing giving you messages while you were in the SHOWER?" But thankfully Sam kept his mouth shut.

"Well, I think I ought to stay behind and see if he'll try and contact me again. He seems to be shy around other people, is more likely to show up when I am alone. Plus, I could do that ritual for you to help the teacher lady. Get that out of the way."

"That's a good idea," Bobby said. He left Dean with his notes on how to do that ritual, and Sam and Bobby took off after midnight.

After doing the ritual, which only took about 15 minutes, Dean kicked back and turned on his radio, but turned it off within a minute because "Can't fight this Feeling" by REO Speedwagon came on and it was making Dean feel even more nervous, like a school girl waiting for her handsome date.

He spent a moment asking Castiel in his head if he could show up, please, and within a moment Castiel was there.

Dean felt as if he'd forgotten to breathe for a minute.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel said. "You are doing well so far on this case. Do keep in mind the detail I gave you last time I saw you."

"Yeah, well, um, that's the problem, I ah, kinda missed that detail. I was hoping you could tell it to me again."

Castiel slid up right up next to Dean on the bed. His breath was hot on Dean's face and it smelled beautiful too. "Why didn't you hear me the first time?"

Dean couldn't speak. He was mesmerized by Castiel's eyes, they were looking at him so quizzically and softly at the same time. Dean could feel that undercurrent of electricity that he always felt in Castiel's presence, and it was unbearable. He finally gathered himself to answer him.

"I was, well, standing there, naked, and…"

"And what?" Castiel asked. Suddenly, Dean no longer felt embarrassment as much as determination. "You know, Castiel, I have a bone to pick with you."

"Bone to pick?" Castiel asked. His sexy lips were moving oh-so-close to Dean's it was driving him crazy.

Dean was about to tell him it was a human expression, but his mind took another track and went with it.

"You know, you seem so human when I see you, yet so divine at the same time, how is that possible?"

"I'm an angel, taking human form, I suppose," Castiel said, "But I think I know what you mean. You can see my innocence, which I have because I am an angel, yet it can be considered a beautiful human trait as well." Castiel looked even more deeply into Dean's eyes, if that was even possible, Dean thought.

"Can your innocence be tarnished?" Dean asked.

"Only if I were to fall," Castiel said. "I don't plan on doing that personally though, there isn't any need for it and there is incredibly important work to be done of course, I can't do that as a human being."

Dean's breath caught in his chest again. He looked down, wondering if that was the answer to his questions, feeling an empty, scary, feeling in the pit of his stomach. He thought of Anna. Was she only allowed to "be with him" 'cause she had fallen?

"What's wrong, Dean?" The sound of Castiel's electric voice was the same as a sweet, sexy lover in the dark. It was a delicious sound, if sounds could have a taste. And Castiel sounded so concerned, like he couldn't handle Dean's disappointment. Their eyes were still locked on one another's, and that alone almost felt as if he were kissing Castiel, it was so intimate.

"That body you're in, is he…aware of what's going on?" Dean asked.

Castiel looked a little surprised at that response to his question, but answered anyway. "I only was really in it the first time I appeared to you. Since then, I have just 'borrowed' the look of it, since that is what you have gotten used to, and because it's trickier to 'disappear into thin air' like I do sometimes, when I am actually in a human body. So, no, he's not aware, he's sound asleep in his bed, probably."

"You, borrow it, as you say, for me?" Dean asked.

"It is better than making you go blind." Castiel said, with a tiny smile coming to his lips.

"Will I ever get to see your true form? You said once that some special people can perceive your true visage."

"It's possible that someday you could, but I wouldn't push that right now." Now it was Castiel's turn to look down. "Dean, can I confide in something to you?"

"Knock yourself out."

"When you asked if I could lose my innocence, and I answered, you seemed so sad, but I am not sure? I wanted to tell you something…"

"Yes?" Dean managed to breath out.

"I don't know if I could ever let myself fall… what Anna did, seems silly to me, irresponsible. It is not the will of God, for one thing. Also, as an angel, I can perceive things that no ordinary human can. I don't know if I could ever give that up. In the past, it was something I took for granted, but now..."

Castiel's gaze was intense again. "Now that I am aware of you, I can't take it for granted, and I can't give it up-"

"Give what up, Cas?" Dean's need to know what it was, was almost painful.

"An angel can feel the beauty of any human soul to an incredible magnitude. It's nothing like humans can even imagine. And yes, we do have a reference point to compare it to; we've been allowed to 'perceive' what a human was perceiving in certain situations that needed our attention."

"The human ability to feel they are 'in love' is the closest thing to it, and that is only a sliver of what angels are capable of feeling. It's much purer, and it's hard to explain, but I wanted to tell you, I can feel the beauty of your soul, and it's overwhelming."

Dean felt as if he were hitting the floor. He closed his eyes, opened them wide, and then gulped. He felt old Dean coming back. The one that couldn't figure out why he was special enough to be pulled out of hell. "Why me?" he said out loud. At the same time, he felt an intense rush of pleasure… it was if time had stopped. Actually it had been stopped for several minutes now.

"This is one thing I don't understand, why you cannot sense your own worth, and I suppose it is part of the human condition, and it is something I wish my father would do away with. It's incredibly sad, that humans cannot sense their own worth. It causes so many problems."

"But I have been an angel for a long time, and I do have faith, most of the time anyway, that there is a plan. I definitely think my rescuing you from hell was part of that plan. Not just for you, and the entire big picture, but for me as well. "

"After I told you what I told you in the park that day, I reflected on it later, and realized some of the faith I thought I had lost was regained when I saw that you wanted to save that town, and you did something about it, and then, just the fact that you are here, alive, and.."

Dean felt as if he were splitting into two. There was old Dean, trying to run away from this mushy stuff. Then there was new Dean, who was soaking this stuff in and only wanted to hear more. At first old Dean took over.

"I thought Anna had said that angels couldn't feel. That they were cold," Dean interrupted.

"I am supposing that Anna didn't feel it was enough to just observe from a distance, perhaps she wanted someone to feel something for her? I don't know, I am not her. But no, we are not cold. We are quite capable of feeling, and I have to admit, there is a certain lure to wondering if someone feels for you back…" the look he gave Dean right then, Dean knew it was a question, not a statement. "To feeling something… with someone…"

New Dean kicked old Dean out of the way. He let him run far away from this, so only new Dean was here. Dean laid his hand on Castiel's. It was warm, pulsating, as if it truly had human physiology. He looked at the trenchcoat, and found himself wondering about the human physiology under it, in a way he had never thought of a man before. Well, um, yeah actually he had, that was why he had needed that cold shower…

"What…is…going on between us?" Dean asked. "The way you look at me, the way it makes me feel…the way you say you feel about me, that I'm beautiful…"

Castiel leaned closer. "How does it make you feel, Dean?"

The heat between them, the need to touch, not just hands, but much, much more, engulfed Dean, and he answered Castiel by leaning in even closer himself until lips touched and started exploring each other, hands too, feeling the muscles of Castiel's arms underneath the trenchcoat, reaching up to the face he was kissing, letting his hands feel the same softness and sandpapery stubble combined that was Castiel's face and mouth…feeling as if he were melting, and enjoying every sensation, the feel of him, the taste of him, the way he kissed, and, interestingly, Dean could sense that Castiel really did see Dean as beautiful, in that kiss…

--

Warning – next chapter is rated M. Feel free to skip it because of the rating – you won't really miss any plot elements if you do.


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING: This chapter is rated M. You will not miss out on the plot if you skip it.

ALSO: This was my first rated M chapter, I wrote it almost a year ago, I was rather squeamish about writing such a thing, so it is what it is – don't have high hopes for it

THANKS so much for all the readers and reviewers!

--

Dean's testosterone was running full force, and something about the fact that Castiel was a man and could take a little roughness, compelled Dean to put his two hands on Castiel's two shoulders, and pushed him down towards the bed, increasing the pressure and intensity of his kiss, lingering on it for awhile, wrapping his arms around Castiel and holding him tight, and noticing that Castiel was doing the same thing, holding him tight, and it felt SO good…

And then started wondering if he had been too rough with Cas, he was an angel, and so innocent, that part of him made him think Cas was like a woman, yet the powerful, angel part of Cas, made him think he was like a man…Dean had never felt so bi in his freakin' life…

Or so alive, ever. Wanting to be gentle now with Castiel instead, he found himself caressing Castiel's temple and hair gently, something he'd only done once before, while making gentle love to Cas –

Cas. His girlfriend from over 4 years ago. His nickname for her was his same nickname for Castiel. Was this some kind of cosmic joke? That the only two times he ever falls in love, they are both named Cas?

Whoa, Dean thought, did I just think, FALL IN LOVE?

At the same time, Castiel met Dean's gentle touch with a mirroring one, caressing Dean's temple, his hair, and they both pulled away for a moment to look into each other's eyes again, Dean because he already missed that gaze, those gorgeous eyes, and Castiel seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. His eyes were on fire.

This caused an excruciating feeling of pleasure, and a bursting longing slammed down to his lower extremities with such force that he had a raging hard-on like he'd never had before. All of his previous hard-on's must have been wilted dandelions compared to this. Dean was surprised his cock hadn't already shot the top of it off like a rocket.

Then Dean realized that he finally had a sense of what it was to have two trees banging together in the woods. Castiel's cock seemed to be as hard as his, and they were suddenly rubbing each other simultaneously, the friction from it hotter than anything he had ever experienced in his life. But it still wasn't enough, he had to feel it with his hand, so he slowly moved his hand from Castiel's hair, slowly caressing him on the way down, savoring every part of Castiel's body on the way down there, till he got to Castiel's long protrusion pressing against his black slacks. Dean rubbed his fingers up and down it slowly, while still kissing Castiel with deep, lip sucking movements.

It felt beautiful. Surely Dean had felt his own cock in his hand, every day of his life, especially since it was necessary to aim towards the toilet when his bladder was full. But this was Castiel's cock, and he's letting me touch it. Dean increased the tempo of rubbing his hand up and down the length of it.

Castiel moaned.

Dean felt around blindly, made sure the top of Cas's cock was still dry, and was realizing at the same time he'd better move things along, before they both exploded in their pants. Dean wasn't going to finish their first time together in their CLOTHES.

Dean tugged at the button and then the zipper, pulling it down, pulling the pants down, then reached for that pink-tipped arrow that was peeking out from the briefs. He pulled the briefs off at the same time as completely gripping Castiel's pole and holding it tight, giving Castiel another look in the eyes.

Now he was touching Castiel's completely bare, incredibly sexy cock. Oh GOD! Suddenly there was a flurry of more clothes being removed, both from Castiel and Dean. Their hot, sweaty chests met and Dean brought his lips back down to Castiel's face, kissing him, holding him tight behind his back, letting their cocks intermingle with similar thrusts that he might make towards a woman. Castiel was doing well keeping up the tempo, their cocks rubbing up against each other in a way that Dean could only describe as LIGHTNING HOT. Their cocks were meeting each other with perfect timing, rubbing just the right spot on Dean at just the right time, over and over…

Finally, the slick, slippery, hotness in his cock exploded and melted into pure bliss. He groaned, and realized he was coming so hard that he could barely move. He collapsed on top of Castiel and just lay there for a moment. Then, concerned, he reached down to feel, and realized he couldn't tell if Castiel had come or not, his own sticky ejaculate was all over both their cocks, or maybe it was Castiel's and his cum all over the place…

"Did you come?" Dean asked.

"Come?" Castiel asked.

"Um, did you have an orgasm?"

"Oh. Yes. I believe I did. It has a pretty messy consequence, doesn't it?" Castiel said, laughing gently, and then reached down himself, slowly feeling Dean's swollen cock, and rubbing the sticky stuff around, all the way down to Dean's balls. "You are beautiful, Dean," Castiel said.

Castiel looked back into Dean's eyes. "Dean, we were making love, and I should have told you I love you, Dean, during it. I'm sorry I didn't do it right. I was…overwhelmed."

Castiel looked so concerned, so sorry, Dean couldn't believe it. He grabbed Castiel in a tight hug. "You didn't do anything wrong. Don't you worry about that at all. And I love you too. God, do I love you. You're perfect. You're beautiful."

Dean and Castiel continued to lay there on the bed, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears, until they both fell asleep in each other's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

Sometime later, Dean found his eyes opening in the dark room and saw the motel door was opening.

"Dean, we've got something to tell you, get up," Sam was saying and turned on the lights without bothering to tell Dean to shield his eyes.

Both Sam and Bobby were staring down at Dean with utter shock on their faces. Dean was wondering what was going on for just a moment, until he remembered.

He was in bed with Castiel, and they were both still naked. Their heads were still touching, their arms still entwined somewhat. Castiel looked as if he were…well…sleeping like an angel. But Dean sat up in bed real quick, glad there was at least a blanket covering them. Castiel started waking up.

Bobby turned to Sam, and said, "Oh, man, now I know why he was looking at that banana all funny."

"Oh my God," was all Sam could say, while shaking his head and blinking his eyes, like he was trying to wake up from a dream.

At the mention of the banana, Dean looked down at Castiel and was pouting without even realizing it.

"Oh, geez, Dean, TOO much information!" Sam exclaimed. "At least now I have an inkling of what's been going though your head lately. But, this, this, is a mindblower."

"Mindblower? This is EPIC!" Bobby said. "Dean's in bed with a man, let alone an angel, I think this act alone may have undone several Seals that Lilith broke!"

"Uh," Dean said, "This isn't the first time I've done it with an angel," he said sheepishly.

Sam and Bobby looked at each other. "Uriel?" they said in unison.

"God forbid, NO, you dufus! Anna!" Dean said, more directed at Sam than anyone.

"Oh," Bobby and Sam said.

After both Sam and Bobby blinked their eyes a few more times, Bobby said, "Well, I am having some trouble getting back to reality, after discovering you've gone all Brokeback Cowboy on us and all, right in front of our eyes, for Godsakes, but I think we need to try and focus on the case…"

"If we even CAN," Sam added.

"We really need to know what it was that Castiel was trying to tell you, Dean, so maybe Castiel, you can help us out?" Bobby was glancing in Castiel's direction, but as soon as his eyes laid eyes there, and Dean's eyes also, Castiel was gone.

I really wish he wouldn't do that, Dean thought.

"He's gone already," Sam said. "So Dean, what did you find out? What did Castiel tell you about the case?"

"Oh man," Dean said, putting his face in both his palms. "We didn't get to that part yet. Shoot!"

"Well," Bobby said, "Spare us the details on what part you DID get to, okay?"

"Can I get dressed?" Dean asked. "I wish I could just disappear at times like this, like Castiel did, but I can't."

Sam and Bobby stepped outside the front door for a few minutes so Dean could pull on some clothes in privacy. Dean opened the door when he was finished.

Sam and Bobby started filling Dean in. "This is what we found in that hole," Bobby said. He held up a small cloth bag with a black ribbon tying it closed. It smelled rancid. Dean took it and opened it up. "Ick. A damn ear? Somebody's ear?"

"Yeah, and who knows how old that thing is. I am actually surprised they left their little trinket behind," Bobby said. "They must have plenty to go around, I guess."

"Well I sure don't want it," Dean said, and shoved it back at Bobby. Bobby took it out to his truck real quick and put it in a chest.

"We need to get a move on, Dean," Bobby said. Mr. Bariphaba emailed me. "He said he did his 'meditation' he needed to do to get the next coordinates to the ritual. We're heading to Darkhorse, Kentucky. He says we need to hurry, the next victim could be taken any day now."

"Do we know how to find the victim? Or the crazy family?" Dean asked.

"Not exactly yet. Mr. Bariphaba said that we would need help from a divine source. It was crucial, to break the ritual altogether. It's that powerful. It's not enough to stop them in their tracks, even if we got lucky. Besides, there isn't enough lore on every step of the ritual. It's so ancient, nothing was really written down till that time 1000 years ago when someone caught wind of it. There's speculations, but nothing solid."

"What kind of speculations?" Dean asked. They were already packing up to leave.

"It might have something to do with the left hands, or left ears, I don't know. Like it might be necessary that every victim is left handed. That would help us narrow things down, because left-handed people are rarer than right."

"Well, then, when daylight hits, we'll call on Mr. Kirski and see if Angela was left-handed or not," Dean said. "That will at least give us a clue if that could be where things are going."

"And the help from a divine source?" Dean asked.

"Bariphaba said we had to listen for a message from one of the Divine Light," Bobby said.

"Castiel," Dean whispered.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam did the driving and let Dean sleep. Once they all got to Darkhorse, Sam and Bobby slept for awhile in a motel room while Dean did some researching. Turned out Mr. Kirski's Angela was right handed. Huh, Dean thought. I would have thought all the victims needed to be left-handed, considering their belief system. He found out the first victim, Stacy, was also right-handed, after an awkward phone call to her mother.

Not sure what to do next, Dean looked through the phone book to see how many high schools were in Darkhorse. Three of them. Great. That really narrows things down. This city was quite a bit bigger than Benkowski, which had one high school.

Well, Dean thought, maybe I can figure out where all the new families with children moved into houses. He realized calling the real-estate agents around asking for the addresses of new families with children was just – wrong. He needed another plan.

Instead he called the public utility office, explained he was an inspector, and said he needed a list of all homes in the city that had at least three bedrooms that turned on new service about two weeks ago. He was hoping that with a boy and a girl, the psycho parents would be renting or buying at least a three-bedroom house. He retrieved a rather large list, but at least it was a start.

That done, Dean started wondering when Castiel was going to show up and give him that important divine message. Now would be a good time, Dean thought, casting it outward, if that was even possible, hoping Castiel would hear him and show up.

Dean faced empty silence. Dean started to worry. Geez, I hope I didn't tarnish his good Divine name last night. Even though it was totally worth it, he thought with a shit-eating grin on his face.

--

Sam woke up first. He wandered over to Dean sleepy-eyed and sat down next to him. Dean told him what he discovered, and then Sam asked him, "How are you?"

Dean looked around the room a little bit and then a tiny smile came to his lips. "I'm not bad, actually," he said.

"Hey Dean," Sam said, "Despite what Bobby and I were saying last night, you're my brother, and I support you on anything you want to do. And you seem happy, and I am glad."

"Um, thanks." Dean said, slightly uncomfortable. "Well, should we wake up Bobby and get this show on the road?"

Several minutes later, Bobby was filled in on the details, too, and said that the list of houses Dean had was way too wide to work with.

"This is some serious business, so Dean, Sam, get your FBI, police officer, or whatever gear on and go to the real estate agents and tell them we NEED to know which families moved in with a boy and a girl, it's a murder investigation. It won't even be a lie."

Later that afternoon, they narrowed their list down to four houses. It was better than what they'd had before, but wasn't narrow enough. They couldn't stake out 4 houses between the three of them.

"Let's go to each house individually, and pretend to be inspectors and see if we can get any weird EMF readings," Dean suggested.

"It's a good idea," Bobby said, "but we are running out of time today. "What we really need is Castiel's message. Without it, we're screwed anyway." He looked over at Dean. "Can you do anything about this? He is your boyfriend, after all."

"Bobby!" Sam shouted. "Leave Dean alone."

"I didn't mean him any disrespect," Bobby said. "I'm serious, Dean. Can you make Castiel show up?"

"Apparently not. He seems to show up when he feels he's ready."

Suddenly Castiel was in the room.

Dean was extremely pleased to see him, but of course Castiel was all business, and after all, both Sam and Bobby were in the room too.

"It is partially my fault that Dean did not get the message last time," Castiel said. He looked everyone in the room in the eye. "My message is this: Pay attention to their names. Also, it is not a coincidence that the first two victims were right-handed. The last two need to be left handed. But there needs to be a transition. That transition will happen in this city if you do not stop it."

"What does that mean?" Dean was asking, but then Castiel was gone.

"Let's think about this," Sam said. "The first two victims are right-handed. Then the last two have to be left-handed. It's like it symbolizes how one is going from the good side to the evil side. If the victim in this city is the transition-"

"I bet she has to be ambidextrous," Bobby interrupted.

"Yeah! But how are we going to find an ambidextrous girl in three separate high schools?"

"Castiel's other clue," Dean said. "Pay attention to their names. One of the girls is named Angela. That's obviously an 'angelic' type name. I don't know what to make of the first victim's name, Stacy. I bet if we went to the library and looked up a baby name book, we'd find what we need."

Sam and Bobby agreed it was a great idea, and they were all heading out the door in a hurry. Bobby went out first, with Dean and Sam trailing behind him.

"By the way," Dean whispered to Sam. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

Sam put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Anytime, bro," he whispered back.


	11. Chapter 11

The library was modern with several walls that were almost all glass that let in a lot of the fading sunlight. Sam observed several people in the library going about ordinary life, sitting at tables reading a newspaper, or skimming through a paperback, trying to decide if it was worth taking home.

Sam thought to himself, if only these people knew what disaster was potentially unfolding. Sam envied them a little, even though he was caught up in the excitement of something that was probably better than any of the novels they were reading. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.

But Sam had accepted awhile ago that he was one of the people that took care of business so other could relax, and live. And right now there was some very serious business to take care of.

They all headed to the appropriate section after Sam located the general baby-name book area of the library. They each took a book or two and sat down at a table.

Dean said he was going to figure out what the name Stacy meant, so Sam and Bobby combed through the names, looking for anything that resembled divine and heavenly origins.

"Looks here like Stacy means 'of the Resurrection' because it's short for Anastasia, which means the same thing. That's a pretty religious or spiritual sounding name if you ask me," Dean said.

"Yeah, and Angela obviously has something to do with angels," Bobby said. "But what about the next name? There are plenty of heavenly or godly names out there, like Celeste, or, Ariel," he said, pointing at the name Ariel.

"Yeah, well what about looking at the whole ritual and maybe matching up the names with what else is going on," Sam said. "Right now the ritual is in the transition phase. I don't know if there is such a thing as a 'transition' name, but maybe this is where the names start going darker. Maybe that's what Castiel meant by paying attention to the names."

"Well then," Bobby said, "the name that comes to my mind would be Adrienne. It's the female version of Adrian, which means 'dark one.' I bet that's got to be it. It's not like there are a lot of popular girl names that have that meaning attached to it."

"I say it's worth a shot," Sam said. Let's see how many Adrienne's are in the high schools here, and then who are ambidextrous.

Several phone calls later by each of the men, including slightly awkward ones that were necessary to find out who was ambidextrous, they narrowed down six Adrienne's to just one.

--

They got into the Impala and headed out for Adrienne's home, parking inconspicuously down the street a ways. "I sure hope we're on the right track," Bobby said.

"That makes three of us," Dean said, and then they all noticed a teenage girl was coming out of the house. "Shoot! How do we even know that's her? That could be her sister, a friend going home…"

Then Dean heard Castiel's voice clearly in his head, almost if he were actually there. "Pay attention to their names," Castiel was repeating in his head, with his sultry, riveting voice.

Dean jumped out of the car. "Adrienne!" he called out. "Adrienne, is that you?"

The girl turned around and peered at their car. "Yes? Who is that?" she said.

"Oh, wrong Adrienne," Dean lied. "Sorry."

The girl shrugged and kept walking away from them. Dean thanked Castiel inwardly for the tip, even though he wasn't sure if it was the angel himself or just his memory that reminded him that Adrienne would pay attention to her name.

Bobby took out the map for Darkhorse he had made sure to get. "Now that we know it's her, we can head to the closest of the four houses on our list. That's easy, there's only one that's close, and it's about four blocks away."

Adrienne arrived at the house just as it was getting completely dark, she was a silhouette on the porch to the Winchesters and Bobby as they slowly pulled up a couple of houses down.

"What is it we are fighting, Bobby?" Dean said. "I mean are they still humans? Are they something else?"

"These people are like half-possessed. They invited their dark lords into their hearts and are going through a transition, not unlike their ritual. Eventually they will become full-blooded, newborn demons, with power that would kick our asses. Let's get a move-on before it's too late."

They waited until the Nelson's got into their car and drove away. What the hell did they do, sneak down the alley later and back into the kitchen? Dean wondered. Bobby was thinking the same thing, so he said he wanted to stake out the back door area. Dean and Sam knocked on the front door. The girl was smart, and didn't answer for a couple of strange men.

"Look, you're in danger. We're undercover cops and we have a murder investigation going on," Dean said loudly.

"I don't buy that for a second. Go away or I will call the cops myself."

"This plan isn't working," Dean said to Sam. That was all that needed to be said for them to both start running alongside the house for the back door. By that time, Bobby had just finished picking the lock.

They all barreled into the kitchen together. Adrienne looked shocked, and was picking up her purse, no doubt to reach for her cell phone.

"Put that down now, and nobody gets hurt," Dean said. "We are here to help you." Stunned by the gun being pointed at her, Adrienne wordlessly put the purse back down. "Don't hurt the kids," she said.

"We're not here for that. Does this place have jars in the refrigerator?" Bobby asked. But he was opening the fridge anyway.

"Yes – how did you know? Mr. Nelson said not to touch them."

"Frickin Psycho," Dean said.

"Were you tempted to touch them? Have you touched them or looked at them yet?" Sam asked.

"Umm – yes. My curiosity was peeked. I admit it. What the hell is this about anyway?"

"Yes to which question?" Dean asked. "Did you look at them, or just were tempted?"

"Tempted! I just got here for crying out loud."

"Whew," Dean and Sam said simultaneously.

"I'm taking these suckers out of the fridge now," Bobby said. "And they are fricking huge."

Sam demanded that Adrienne go to the living room and not look at the jars. Dean watched the back door vigilantly for the enemy. Bobby moved the jars out to the table one by one. They were covered in brown butcher paper.

"Whoa, these things have a real evil vibe going on," Sam said.

"Tell me about it," Bobby said. "I'm the one who had to touch them. I feel like I've just been coated in Satan's own personal barbeque sauce or something. Yuck." He pulled back some of the paper. "Oh geez, poor Angela. Oh my god."

"Is it her?" Dean asked without taking his eye off the back door.

"It's somebody, alright. I think I just lost my appetite for awhile. Is anybody coming yet?"

"No, not that I can tell," Dean said.

Adrienne had heard enough from the living room that she fainted. Sam rushed to check her pulse, she was okay, for now anyway. The kids were nowhere in sight. Probably in bed.

Sam came back to the kitchen. He took a quick look inside the jars. "Ew. At least we know we have the right place."

Dean was turning around to look for himself. Sam blurted out, "No Dean, don't!"

"Don't worry, I'm watching the back door!"

"No, you're not!"

Dean whipped his head around and there stood a tall, bony man, who had thin hair plastered to his forehead with sweat, a big, ugly grin on his face, and a large silver knife in his hands. Which was lunging directly at Dean. And fast.

--

And the man was gripping Dean's head, turning it towards the jars.

"It's not too late, Dean." Mr. Nelson was saying. "Take a look at my jars."

Sam and Bobby were already pulling out handguns, but before either one could shoot, Sam had a large silver knife right up against his throat. It drew a little blood just from being there.

"Don't shoot him," a female voice said. "Or this one dies."

Bobby turned and saw a woman standing right behind Sam, one hand holding the knife, the other knocking the gun out of Sam's hand with lightning-quick reflexes.

"I think you all intend to kill us anyway," Bobby said. "Funny thing though, we were having the exact same thoughts about you."

"Isn't that touching, that the feeling is mutual," the woman said. "Too bad it can't last forever. Sometimes, people just have to move on." She wasn't wavering on her grip against Sam's neck with the knife. Sam tried to talk, and realized the slightest movement of his throat would cut him further.

Instead, he lifted his eyebrows, gave Bobby a look, and then scanned his eyes over to Dean. And did it again.

Bobby looked over at Dean. Nelson had paused the knife right at Dean's heart, and was still fighting to get Dean's head to turn towards the jars.

"Dean! Whatever you do, don't look at those jars!" Bobby yelled.

"I know…I'm trying not to!"

--

Dean had already tried to maneuver in such a way that he could cold-cock the guy and take the knife away before Nelson could stab him, but Nelson's grip was so strong that Dean was fighting with all his life not to turn his head, and the man didn't budge when it came to trying to whack the knife out of his hands.

And then Sammy's life was in danger. Dean didn't want to make a false move. He couldn't bear the thought.

"Just kill those other two." Mr. Nelson said. "Dean will be looking at the jars in a moment, and everything will be taken care of."

Bobby looked at the woman. "You kill Sam there, and I guarantee, Bitch, you're next." He aimed the gun in anticipation.

Dean was wondering what the hell they could do to get the upper hand, when he felt that undercurrent of electricity inside him – his bond with Castiel. It was buzzing with great energy throughout him, and he heard Castiel's voice in his head, clear as a sweet tune booming out of the Impala's speakers on a hot, dusty, road.

"Pay attention to their names."

Dean managed to turn his head enough to look straight into Nelson's eyes.

"What is your NAME. Nelson?" Dean asked. "What is your first name?"

Nelson's face held total surprise. His grip on Dean faltered. "Dominic," he said.

Mrs. Nelson's grip was faltering too. It didn't take long for Sam, Dean, and Bobby to gain that upper hand they all had been hoping for. Bobby had some rope in his stuff and tied up the Couple from Hell to each other. They were both so stunned they didn't fight against it at all. Then Bobby took out a piece of paper and read it over the jars three times: "Beings of Light and Divinity, I ask that you take this soul as your own. Make her one with your light."

"Now what?" Dean asked. "Do we need to do anything else with the jars?"

"Nope," Bobby said. "Now they are just evidence."

After an anonymous phone call to the local police by Dean, Bobby had one last word to the Nelson's before they hid out in the Impala and made sure the police took them away.

"You two are now officially divorced. I don't think they'll honor your marriage vows in prison."

"Do you think they'll really stay put till then?" Sam asked as they made their way to the front door. "They are pretty strong. And Adrienne's still lying there on the floor."

"I don't know what possessed Dean to come up with that in the nick of time, asking him his name," Bobby said, "But I never realized years ago, that what seemed like a pointless conversation with a drunk in a bar would mean to me this very day."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"This guy kept telling me over and over that he belonged to the Lord. That's what his name meant. And the dude's name was Dominic. I thought it was just some spiritual crisis of his. Anyway, this guy here, Nelson, was so messed up – his wife too, over his "divine" name being brought up, it must have helped stop the entire ritual in its tracks."

"Anyways, just in case," Bobby continued, "I tied 'em up real good. Let's go."


	12. Chapter 12

Dean, Sam and Bobby were back in the motel room, a cold one in each of their hands. Sweat was dripping down both the bottles and the boys. Bobby was just about to write to Mr. Bariphaba and tell him the good news.

"I don't believe this!" Bobby said.

"What?" Dean and Sam asked.

"Mr. Bariphaba had just recently written me an urgent email, saying that he just figured out that it was important that one of the people stopping the ritual, had to have a RELATIONSHIP with the Divine source giving the message – he was saying if none of us was religious or spiritual, we'd better find someone who is."

"Whoa," Dean said. "That is like – whoa. So, I had to have a relationship with Castiel for that whole ritual to be broke?"

"Looks like it," Bobby said. "I for one am grateful you two hit it off or whatever. Geez. The way things happen and why. Give you a lot to think about."

Dean was smiling. Then he got a quizzical look on his face. "But what I don't get is why that psycho was trying to get me to look at the jars. Why me? Why didn't he go wake Adrienne up and get her to look? Don't get me wrong I am really glad he didn't."

"I'm looking up the meaning of 'Dean' online as we speak," Bobby said while typing.

"Dweller in the Valley," Bobby said after a moment.

"What does that have to do with darkness or evil?" Dean said. "Nothing! Wasn't Adrienne chosen because of her name?"

"Yeah, but that name could look like it meant 'in between'" Sam said. "Someone in a valley is in between mountains. And remember, it was a transition phase of the ritual."

"That's a good point," Bobby said.

"Yeah, but I'm not ambidextrous." Dean said. "So I still don't get it."

There was this very subtle, hushed wind in the room and suddenly Castiel was there with them, standing.

"You could have become ambidextrous," Castiel commented. "It happens with children, they have the potential for both and then teachers just assume the child is right handed and steer them in that direction."

Dean thought about looking down at his own hands, but it was impossible to let go of that sexy stare Castiel was giving him.

Castiel broke the gaze though momentarily to look at Bobby and Sam. "I need to speak to Dean alone."

Bobby didn't need any more hints – he remembered the last time Castiel showed up and had needed to talk to Dean alone, he suddenly woke up later on the floor.

"He's all yours," Bobby said. "Sam let's get out of here."

They both jumped up. "Take your time," Bobby said. "The room is ALL yours."

Dean was in awe that he suddenly had this alone time with Castiel, out of the blue. As soon as Bobby's truck pulled out of the parking lot, Dean grabbed Castiel in a bear hug.

"It's really good to see you," Dean said.

Castiel pulled away and looked into Dean's eyes. The love was so apparent he had to grip Castiel and hold him again."

"Let's sit down Dean," Castiel suggested.

They sat down on the foot of the bed. "So, is it true, what Bobby said, that we had to have a relationship, so that we could break the ritual? Cause, I've been wondering, if I got you in trouble or something, after what we did, and also, if we are going to have to just stop, since you are an angel and all…"

"Dean." Castiel said his name gently and ran his fingers down Dean's face. Dean caught the hand and held on to it, tight. Castiel smiled. "Yes, our relationship is not only allowed, it is willed, by the Lord. I would never have thought it possible, but these are trying times, and things are changing in many directions and layers of the Lord's universe that you are not aware of. And it was VERY necessary for the messenger to have a personal – not necessarily as personal as ours, put still a personal relationship with the human involved. Usually in the past, back in India, it meant a very devout person was also the 'hunter' as you and your brother call yourselves – who stopped the ritual."

"So even though you are an angel, you can be with me?" Dean said.

"Yes, and I can even experience it in a pseudo-human body. It is an illusion, but I experience the same sensations that a human would. It is very interesting. And pleasurable," Castiel said, raising an eyebrow at Dean.

"Um… and just how pleasurable?" Dean asked. His eyes glinted with want and desire.

"You are… a fantastic lover – not that I have much reference points, I have none other than you…and you are so incredibly – attractive – and lovable – it made my experience with you that much more incredible – I am rather dying for it to happen again – so to answer your question – very pleasurable." He chuckled.

Castiel looked straight into Dean's eyes and touched him briefly in the groin, sending waves of pleasure up Dean's spine.

"I would love the opportunity to grip you tight, again, Dean – but it will have to wait for now, there is still a war going on, and I have matters to attend to today. Can we part with a kiss?"

The kiss was soft and lingering. Dean didn't want it to end. And what a rush it gave him.

Castiel pulled away, and said, "I may not be available all the time, but please remember, you are always in my heart and mind. Always."

And with the softest whisper of a sound Castiel was gone.

--

Thanks for reading and reviewing my fic! There is an epilogue chapter coming next so stay tuned. WARNING: The epilogue is rated M. It's Castiel's POV on chapter 8, the other M rated chapter. Sort of.

I would like to give credit to the book "Name Your Baby" by Lareina Rule for all the name definitions I came up with for this story.

And I hope Dean is right handed or I screwed up here : )


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue – RATED M!

--

Castiel allowed himself the indulgence one more time…he felt guilty, only because Dean couldn't experience it too.

Being an angel, Castiel had the advantage of being able to rewind experiences, and experience them again, every sensation, every emotion – it wasn't quite like the first time, but the emotions he experienced while making love to Dean were all so similar anyway it might as well been the first time.

Castiel had access to a pocket of time that he used – he wished he could take Dean there with him as well, but for the time being it wasn't allowed. He mused to himself often what kind of adventures they could have if only…

But he swept himself into his hidden place and was there again in the room with Dean…

--

He couldn't believe it, how sweet it was, how good it felt when Dean was saying, "The way you look at me, the way it makes me feel…" it got to him every time, it was a rush like nothing else. This was what it feels like when your beloved loves you back.

There was a deep warmth in his borrowed human chest, an ache that he wasn't fully aware of suddenly being washed and drowned into a happiness like none other.

So far, he had been used to his own innocent fondness of Dean, and assumed that's all it ever would be for eternity. He was in awe that he was allowed to become closer to Dean than he ever imagined. Not only because Dean felt something for him, but because Castiel new instantly that it was not forbidden – no other gift from his Eternal Father could ever mean anything more to him.

Dean was not only a soul that was beautiful to behold – all souls were to an angel, even the broken ones – but Dean's had a special quality that he had become attached to. And Dean was a very well-shaped and formed man. He never tired of looking at those handsome green eyes, and peering through them, and seeing Dean's soul that way – because he felt that connection between them when he did that, their bond, it was like the most exquisite elixir to him, feeling the two of them tied together, just by a longing glance.

And then Dean was kissing him. Never had he imagined that human habit could feel so good. He could understand now, what Anna had told Dean, about angels being cold – they didn't understand a lot of things, like how it felt to kiss, to hold another human being close.

There was not only the way Dean tasted to his tongue, he didn't know how to describe it at all other than it was 'Dean' – and he loved it – there was how Dean kissed, he could feel not only Dean's beautiful lips against his which was a sensation too beautiful for words, but he could feel Dean's passion and love in that kiss.

He felt himself melting into vulnerability he never wanted to escape. He wanted Dean to have anything he wanted from him. He wanted to give Dean every part of himself, and being an angel – that was impossible right now. He supposed Dean would probably be satisfied with him in a human form for now. No reason to rush things along. What was happening for the time being was beautiful as it was.

And then Dean pushed him against the bed, and Castiel became more aware of that sensation in his body's loins – he thought it was desire. Kind of like an aching – to be touched. It felt very warm and hot, and the male apparatus was enlargening, getting more and more desirous, almost an entity of its own.

Castiel liked to study this moment a lot. Because before now, when it came to human sex – it was just something he didn't understand or comprehend. He just plain didn't GET it before. Finally tasting it, he supposed, was like finally tasting an orange for the first time – which he did get to try over a 1000 years ago. Again, he was becoming more understanding of what Anna did – and was grateful he didn't have to put himself in the same position to be able to have this experience with Dean.

Dean's own swollen organ was rubbing up against his, the answer to his silent need, silent because unspoken, but not silent at all as far as the sensation it brought his own body – it SCREAMED through it a longing and desire for more closeness to Dean, he wasn't sure how that was possible since sex was a foreign language to him, but he was well aware of how good it felt to have the need satisfied, and then, more need develop from it, like layers and layers being thrown in. He was engulfed in the increasing pleasure – and felt a terrible longing that hit the core of him to look Dean in the eyes again – to feel their connection, to let Dean know what this all meant to him.

Dean must have been thinking the same thing, because they both pulled up their faces at the same time and locked eyes immediately. The love he saw in Dean's eyes meant the world to him. That connection brought an even more startling sensation to his loins…he had no idea the feelings he was having could increase! No wonder people liked to have sex.

Dean increased that feeling by reaching down and touching it – Castiel had trouble thinking of it as 'his' since he didn't really have a human body in the first place – but that elongated organ of his felt new waves of pleasure as Dean touched it gently.

This was probably his favorite part, that new experience of intimacy with Dean, but then he loved every part.

It got even better when Dean started undressing him and touched the male penis he wore for the day for the first time, skin to skin. Dean's warm hand squeezing it – he felt he would explode. He felt as many types of gratitude that was possible in the heavens. He hoped Dean was enjoying the experience as well as he was.

Then their male organs were rubbing up against each other, and each new motion was as meaningful as the next. He felt the pleasure in that organ increase, change in subtle ways that he could never describe, and then the pleasure increased to such a high point it couldn't go any higher. Something warm was shooting out of him – the seed. All the while they had been kissing tenderly and his heart was alight with sheer fire for Dean. He wished he could send all his loving feelings and thoughts into Dean's mind so he could feel him too.

Dean seemed to be satiated as well – there was a warm, contentedness in his male organ and in his heart as well. But he thought again of how he wished he could express his love to Dean – and suddenly felt badly – they had been 'making love' as humans put it, and he hadn't told Dean once that he loved him! So he told him and Dean gave him a loving hug, and said those same words back. His heart was singing! Dean loved him!

And then they held each other close on the bed, said the sweetest things to each other, and Castiel even allowed his borrowed human body to fall asleep for a time, so he could have that shared experience with Dean too.

--

Castiel enjoyed the afterglow of the entire experience for a little while, and told himself, no more. It wasn't fair to Dean. How strange that Dean was REALLY there each and every time he re-experienced it, since it was basically going back in time, but Dean just wasn't conscious of the fact whatsoever that Castiel was experiencing it more than once. And from now on, he told himself, he would make sure Dean had one experience after another to enjoy – he loved him so much. But he had to wait until the Father gave him time. There was that blasted war going on.

--

THE END of The Jars in the Refrigerator

Thanks everyone for reading! Technically there is a sequel to Jars here at FFN, called The House that Vanished – but so far it's more of a Dean & Sam general story, I really need to make Castiel appear soon so it can be accurately called a Dean/Cas story. Castiel is mentioned and thought of though, by Dean.


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